A conference of rubber growers of Karnataka will be held at Puttur on Friday.
Organised at Jain Bhavan, Bappalige, at 11a.m., the conference will see discussions on various issues pertaining to rubber growers, said N. Sharath Bhandary, president of the All-Karnataka Rubber Planters’ Association.
Ajith Kumar, chairman of Rubber Board, Kerala, will inaugurate the conference.
Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, Mr. Bhandary said that the price of natural rubber in the domestic market has crashed from Rs. 245 a kg in January 2012 to Rs. 116 a kg in November 2016, owing to a variety of reasons, all beyond the control of growers.
Demand and supply
He said the country’s annual demand for rubber is about 15 lakh tonnes, out of which demand for natural rubber is about 10 lakh tonnes. Last year, the country produced 5.5 lakh tonnes of natural rubber while 4.5 lakh tonnes of natural rubber was imported. The automobile industry utilises about 55 per cent of natural rubber in India.
He claimed that the current annual demand for natural rubber in the world is estimated at 11 million tonnes. This is estimated to cross 13 million tonnes by 2020. India is the fifth largest producer of natural rubber after Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and China.
Mr. Bhandary said the State has about 55,000 hectares under rubber, with about 60,000 growers. The cultivation is mainly spread in Daskhina Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru. The State produces about 40,000 tonnes of natural rubber and the consumption is estimated at 60,000 tons.
Karnataka is likely to emerge as the second largest State in south India with regard to area under rubber by 2025, he said.
